As the aircraft was exiting a stall turn the pilot noticed that the engine and propeller had stopped. He attempted to restart the engine by diving the aircraft. However, the engine had not restarted by the time the aircraft reached 2000 feet above ground level and the pilot decided to land the aircraft in an open area. During the approach the pilot realised that the selected landing area was unsuitable so he chose another area. As the aircraft approached the new area it struck trees and came to rest at the edge of that area. No defects were found with the aircraft or its systems which may have contributed to the engine failure or the pilots inability to restart the engine. It is considered likely that the high nose attitude during the stall turn manoeuvre may have caused an interruption to the flow of the gravity fed fuel system, resulting in the engine being starved of fuel. Although the pilot had been briefed on the engine restart procedure, he had not been shown an inflight restart. It is likely that the dive, conducted by the pilot, may have been too shallow to effect an engine restart.

The pilot had flown the aircraft from Archerfield to Sydney earlier in the morning. It was his first long flight in the aircraft since purchasing it four months previously. He reported that the fuel tank had been filled to capacity on the day prior to DEPARTURE from Archerfield, and during the flight he had used the correct mixture leaning technique. On arrival at Sydney the pilot calculated there was adequate fuel for the flight to Camden and noted that the fuel gauge indicated "10 gallons". Twelve minutes after takeoff the engine lost all power. The pilot was then forced to attempt a landing on a sports oval. The aircraft touched down in the centre of the oval and ran through the boundary fence and over an embankment before coming to rest. An inspection of the wreckage revealed that the engine had failed after all the usable fuel had been exhausted. The fuel tank was subsequently filled to capacity and it was found to hold only 119 litres, instead of the 132 litres specified in the Aircraft Flight Manual, although the pilot believed the tank capacity to be 159 litres. This reduction in tank capacity had been caused by creases in the bladder fuel tank, and it is also likely that the fuel gauge overread as a result of the creased bladder.

The pilot reported that he had noticed condensation on the windscreen prior to taxiing, and had turned on the windscreen defog fan and placed the external bleed air blower on. A flow of bleed air was achieved by advancing the left throttle. The landing lights and taxy lights were turned on when he turned right out of the parking bay, and began to follow the unlit taxiway centreline. The pilot said that the line was difficult to see but visibility was sufficient to continue. Light rain was falling at the time. The passenger, who was also an experienced pilot, noted that the pilot was following the centreline and said that visibility ahead was limited from the right hand seat, but that he could see better to the right of the nose due to less fogging on that part of the windscreen. He was aware that the pilot was operating the defogging equipment and momentarily diverted his attention inside the aircraft. When he looked up again the aircraft had diverged right towards the parked aircraft and he shouted a warning to the pilot. The pilot turned the aircraft left immediately, but the right wingtip struck the tail of the parked aircraft. The passenger said that he was not aware that the pilot had been unable to see the parked aircraft prior to the collision. The pilot and passenger both stated that the apron lighting was inadequate for night operations in reduced visibility.

The pilot was engaged in sheep mustering. The aircraft was being flown at 200 feet agl, and about three minutes after the fuel tank selection was changed , the engine lost power. The pilot selected the other fuel tank but the engine did not respond. The aircraft touched down heavily on unsuitable terrain and the main gear collapsed. No defect was found with the engine and 55 litres of fuel was drained from the fuel system following the accident. It is considered probable that the loss of power resulted from fuel starvation caused by the pilot inadvertently turning the fuel selector beyond the correct position. An inspection of the fuel selector valve found that it had been incorrectly assembled. This resulted in there being no effective detent to indicate that the selector had been correctly positioned. Also it was found that if the selector was positioned slightly beyond the required position, fuel flow was considerably restricted.

The particular aircraft is a glider fitted with a retractable engine. Shortly after takeoff for a soaring flight, the pilot noticed that the airspeed indicator (ASI) appeared to be operating erratically. The flight was continued with the pilot estimating the airspeed, but no thermals were found and the pilot decided to return to the departure point using engine power. The aircraft stalled during the landing flare and the left wing struck the ground. The aircraft slewed to the left and touched down while travelling sideways. The fuselage was fractured during the ensuing ground slide. The approach was flown with landing flap and a substantial degree of air-brake deployed. With the engine also extended the glider was in an extremely high drag situation. Although the flight manual is specific about the degradation in performance of the glider with the engine extended, the pilot reported that his endorsement training failed to adequately address this aspect. Investigation also revealed that some dirt and insects were present in the pitot/static plumbing connected to the ASI. These may have caused the reported erratic readings during the initial stages of the flight.

The helicopter was being used to transport empty fuel drums from a dump at an elevation of about 6500 feet on the summit of the mountain to the valley floor. One load of 5 drums had been successfully lifted about 10 minutes previously, and the pilot returned to sling load a further 4 drums. He subsequently reported that as he began to lift the drums he detected a change in the engine note. The load was immediately jettisoned, but the engine continued to wind down and the pilot was committed to a landing in a confined clearing. Full collective was applied to arrest the forward speed and the aircraft landed heavily. After the helicopter had come to rest the pilot extinguished a small fire which had broken out at the rear of the engine compartment. At the time of the accident, the helicopter was being operated well within its performance capabilities. When the heavy touchdown occurred, the exhaust pipe was severely distorted, restricting the flow of exhaust gasses. As a result, the turbine assembly experienced an extreme over-temperature condition and the blades and guide vanes were melted before the engine was shut down. This damage precluded the investigation of any possible malfunction of the assembly during the hover immediately before the engine apparently lost power. No other defect or malfunction was discovered and the reason for the reported loss of power remains undetermined.

Enroute to his planned destination the pilot flew around the Mt. Beauty area for several minutes. He had not previously landed at the strip and had not intended to on this occasion, however after watching other aircraft operating a decision to land was made. A go-around was made from the first approach as the aircraft was high on late final. Touchdown from the subsequent approach was made well into the strip and the aircraft bounced. A go-around was initiated but while turning to avoid trees the left wing struck the ground and the aircraft cartwheeled, coming to rest inverted. Witnesses reported that during the go-around the aircraft adopted a steep nose high attitude but did not climb. The turn left was initiated whilst the aircraft was in this attitude. No fault was subsequently found with the engine or associated systems. The pilot had probably established the aircraft in a steeper than normal attitude because of the presence of a hill adjacent to the strip.

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that he was manoeuvring near the side of a hill when the aircraft encountered an area of sink. An attempt to fly out of the sink was unsuccessful and the pilot manipulated the aircraft controls in an attempt to minimise the damage on touchdown. The keel beam fractured forward of the mast.

Shortly after a normal take-off, the pilot sensed that the engine was not delivering full power and the passenger commented that he could detect rough running. The pilot attempted to reach a clear area ahead, but the aircraft collided with 3 metre high scrub while in a nose-high attitude. It then spun through 180 degrees before coming to rest about 10 metres from the initial impact point. A fire broke out which destroyed most of the fuselage and part of the wings. The investigation was hampered by the degree of fire damage, however no fault was found with the engine which might have explained the reported loss of power. Atmospheric conditions were conducive to carburettor icing, but whether this had in fact occurred could not be determined.

The aircraft is fitted with a tail skid and has no brakes. The pilot was taxying on the grass beside the taxyway in order to increase the rolling resistance of the wheels. His attention was directed to the right, when the left lower wing struck a sign which was 6 metres from the edge of the taxyway.